Team KRMN - Beacon's Carmine Flames
by AstreaZero
Summary: Two years before the fall of Beacon Academy, a new team makes its debut. Kris, Rosanna, Malva, Nix; four different people, four different dreams, one common student life. Encounters foretold in the cards, friendships written in the stars, secrets hidden in the night, and a red fire burning deep inside. Follow team KRMN in the most defining adventure of their lives.
1. Prologue 1 - Watcher

**A RWBY OC Fan-fiction**  
 **Prologue One** \- **"W** **atcher"**

"Kris, you're going to be laaaaate!" Meli shouted over the melodic sound of the guitar. From upstairs, she heard a heavy sigh, and then her brother's footsteps as he stormed down the stairs, carrying two duffel bags and his weapon on his back. "What do you have to say about your tardiness, young Leontis?" his younger sister asked, hands on her hips, in her best imitation of their mother's voice.

"I can't take Caramela with me, so I had to say my goodbyes," Kris replied. Caramela was his guitar, and he had spent the past half an hour bidding it farewell by playing his own pieces. "But you had to go ahead and interrupt us!" he added, pinching his sister's cheek in a tease.

"Then, next time, I'm gonna let you be late! You think I care if you're late to Beacon?" Meli punched him in the shoulder in a pretend-pout. "We gotta go now if we wanna make it on time. Dad said he'll be waiting for us there."

"I'm all set. Let's go."

/ / /

"Soo..." Meli began, after a while of walking down the forest path in silence. The skyport was located a couple of miles away from the town center, which wasn't a big distance from their home. But the route through the forest would get them there faster. "Will you come visit while you're at Beacon? I mean, I know you're going to be super busy, training to be a Huntsman and all that, but you'll be able to pay us a visit every now and then, right?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll get the chance to during holiday breaks. But I'll write to you as frequently as I can," Kris replied, and then fell silent again.

His furrowed expression made the scar over his right eyebrow stand out more. It became clear that something was troubling him, from the way he shifted his glance around, his tail swinging from side to side nervously. His sister wanted to rekindle some kind of conversation, but kept hesitating. She knew what was bothering him. With their parents away on missions, the two siblings had only one another to depend on for most of their childhood and adolescence. Kris's duty had always been to take care of and protect his little sister. He almost lost her and their father once, due to his own incompetence. The root of his ambition to become a Huntsman was exactly his resolution to protect her, and everyone he cared for. But, to carry it out, he had to leave her behind. "Meli..." Kris muttered, halfway through the trip to the airship. "You're going to be alright on your own, right? I won't be able to watch over you from now on."

There was a very short silence until her reply. "Pfft! Of course I'll be alright! I'm not a small kid anymore," Meli beamed. "I can take care of myself. I'm already learning how to fight, so I'm gonna meet you in Beacon in no time!"

For the first time since they left the house, Kris broke into a laugh. "You can catch up?" he chuckled. At three years younger than him, Meli would be able to meet up with her older brother in Beacon during his last year there.

"You bet! I'm gonna-" The faunus girl's sentence was cut off abruptly by a sharp gasp. She froze still, listening, her yellow eyes wide in an expression of fear. Realizing that she was using her semblance, Kris activated his immediately. "There are two Grimm ahead of us... I can hear one more, further away," Meli muttered in a shaky voice, just as her brother spotted the far-off figures of the Beowolves through the lush vegetation. The two creatures, sensing the girl's fear, headed towards their location.

Kris pulled Cerberus out of its holster, the machinery inside the assault rifle beginning to growl softly as it was turned on. His hand lingered over the switches, trying to decide which mode, automatic, semi-automatic or the blades, would be the right one to begin. "Listen closely: I'll fight them off," he said, just as the Grimm stepped out of the bushes ahead, "and you'll run away as soon as their attention is on me. Got it? Wait until I've engaged both of them, and then run to the docking area where it's safe." She nodded. He shot a round in the air, aggravating the two Beowolves; the first one prepared to leap.

Its lunge was cut off by a powerful shot from Cerberus's semi-automatic mode. Staggering on its feet, the monster stepped back; the Beowolf behind it was met with a same attack. Shaking their large heads in pain, both Grimm growled aggressively. Their glowing red eyes were now fixed on the Huntsman-in-training. "Run, Meli!" With a leap the Beowolves would envy, the girl sprinted out of their way, going around the field and further into the forest. The Grimm attempted to go after her, but the one on the front was met with a brutal slash of Cerberus's blades. Despite the force Kris put into it, it wasn't enough to kill it. Sacrificing his peripheral view for a narrow sight with his semblance, he was able to see Meli bolt through the woods, her silhouette outlined by her yellow aura. With the x-ray vision his semblance provided, he tracked the route his sister took until she reached a safe distance; from the left, there were two more Grimm approaching. But with a narrow field of vision to maximize the range of his semblance, Kris was unable to see and dodge the Grimm's claw attack on time.

With a fierce swing of its arm, the Beowolf pushed him back, but his aura took most of the damage. "Come on," he muttered, a half-smile spreading on his lips, "you're going to make me late." With Cerberus still in sword mode, he jumped back into the fight, focusing on the wounded Beowolf. After two more slashes the creature vanished into black smoke, and Kris moved on to the next one just as the other two entered the fray. Switching back to automatic, Kris made a few steps back to assess the situation. With his semblance he spotted two more coming his way. Meli was unarmed and afraid, though the heat of the battle seemed to attract the Grimm more than her emotions. If anything, it secured her safety. He kept his semblance on to track the movement of the Grimm, and returned to the fight.

"As if you'll ever make it," said a voice in his head. "You're not good enough. You're going to fail just like last time." It caught him by surprise, causing him to almost fall victim to a Grimm's vicious bite. In close-range combat, the sword mode was his best choice. He sliced and cut through the black creatures surrounding him, but, even though he felt like he was winning, the little voice of doubt in his mind grew ever louder. One voice became two, then five, then ten and more. The kids from the school, the scornful townspeople, the bullies from Signal, they all chanted the phrases in chorus, joined every now and then by his own voice as well. He gritted his teeth, focusing all of his strength into defeating the Grimm in front of him. After a point, it felt as if even the Beowolves were chanting along. He'd given up on counting them as they entered the fight after the eighth one. He cut them down, one by one, but their dying snarl sounded like "You can't." Cerberus's momentum was interrupted violently when it hit the bone plate of the last Beowolf, which was more heavily-armored than the others. Unable to get the blade unstuck on time, Kris could only brace himself for impact as the monster threw him at a tree behind him.

Waves of yellow aura bolted through his body as he tried to recover from the attack; thanks to his parents' rigorous training and his own physique, his aura could last him a few more attacks of this magnitude. The chorus of voices had given their place to a horrible ringing in his ears as soon as he got back on his feet. Cerberus was lying next to the Beowolf, which was preparing its next charge. The creature lunged forward for one more strike, but missed when Kris jumped and climbed on top of its spiky back. Before the Grimm could free its teeth from the tree, he sent a shock wave of aura through its spine, then run to retrieve his weapon. Not giving the Beowolf any time to recover, he delivered the finishing blow with one last blast from the rifle in the semi-auto mode. The chorus of doubts and insults lingered for a while, and then disappeared along with the smokes from the Grimm's body.

/ / /

By the time he got to the skyport, all the other new recruits were there, while the airship was waiting with its engines on for the last of the cadets to come aboard. Since the people of the town seemed carefree as usual, and with no apparent evidence of any recent Grimm activity anywhere near the take-off site, none other than Kris and Meli seemed to be aware of the Beowolf attack in the woods. It wasn't hard for the disheveled lion faunus to find his sister and father; they were the only worried-looking ones among the crowd. Meli was the first to notice he had arrived, and tapped her hands excitedly on her father's shoulders to get his attention. They rushed over, with the girl on the verge of tears.

"I'm okay. I'm not hurt, my aura took most of the damage. Cerberus is not broken, and I have all my luggage with me. Everything's fine," he said, giving an answer for every question that he was expecting his father to ask. He was telling the truth, but even if he were to lie, the veteran would notice in an instant.

Since Kris had covered most of his inquiries, Ares handed him an envelope. "Your mother really wanted to be here to see you off, but she couldn't leave halfway through the mission. This is from her. You must read it after you've formed teams, she told me. Don't open it before that," he instructed, placing the envelope in one of the interior pockets of his son's jacket. Kris's "Okay" could hardly be heard over the sound of the pilot's announcement for the take-off.

With a deep sigh and a trace of a smile, Ares combed Kris's hair back with his fingers before placing his forehead on his. After exchanging a quiet "goodbye", it was Meli's turn. The girl wasn't tall enough to reach her brother's face even on the tips of her toes, so she buried her face into his shirt, squeezing until the next and last announcement from the pilot. They let go, and Kris picked up his duffel bags and run to the airship, its gate closing in behind him as soon as he stepped inside. There were nearly twenty new recruits in the airship; most from other regions of the kingdom of Vale. His hometown, Nemea, was sending off just four cadets. Among them, there had to be...

"Kris," a familiar feminine voice came from the other end of the passengers' lounge. Locating her amidst the crowd, Kris broke into a smile and made his way toward the petite purple-haired girl that was calling him. Leaving Meli on her own was painful, no doubt; who was going to protect the girl from now on, until she was strong enough to fight for herself? It troubled him, yet there was comfort in the expression of the purple-haired girl, who had used her two enormous suitcases to save him a seat. There was one more person he had to watch over, and she was coming with him.

"Sorry I'm late!"


	2. Prologue 2 - Ghosts

**A RWBY OC Fan-fiction**

Prologue 2 - "Ghosts"

"Where are you off to, Rosie?" A voice amidst the shadows spoke. Rosanna, upon recognizing it, froze like a statue, her fist clenching around the grip of her bag. The alley was empty, save for a cloud of black smoke fuming from behind a stack of wooden boxes.

"It seems our dear sister is leaving us, without even saying goodbye," another voice chipped in. Without a moment of hesitation, she run off.

This part of the city of Mistral was empty at this late hour. The main concern of the blonde girl, however, was not to not be seen by anyone, but to manage to make it to the skyport in time, before the airship took off. She steered into narrow roads and garbage-ridden alleyways, climbed atop of roofs, jumped over carts, wagons, whatever she could use to hinder them, but her brothers were still able to keep up, despite the obstacles she made them go through. But the semblances of all three siblings were almost similar, and perfect for evading -or maybe, going through- such obstacles. The cloud of black smoke was hot on her heels, morphing every few seconds into the muscular figure of Alban, the youngest twin. The other, Russ, was teleporting closer and closer to her.

Since none of them knew the city well, Rosanna was deciding her route on the spot, and the only thing her brothers could do was to follow her, until they could catch her. She spotted an outdoors market stationed in a wide, empty road between two buildings, and led them there, an idea shaping in her head. She unsheathed her axes and aimed a powerful swing at her two pursuers, who immediately tried to dodge it. To her advantage, the twins had no idea how her weapons work. The axe grips stayed in her hands, while the shoulder of the handles disconnected, revealing the long iron chains, which sent the sharp axe blades flying towards her brothers. The blades cut through the pillars of the stands and kiosks along the wide road, spilling wooden and metallic debris, as well as remains of merchandise onto the road. Without missing a second, Rosanna holstered her weapons and resumed her sprint.

In the distance she could see a field showered in light, with a tall communications tower in its middle; the skyport! Her little trick had given her a small lead, but Russ's and Alban's slurs became louder and louder as they kept on running after her. She couldn't use her weapons to fight in these narrow alleyways and streets, but her semblance was ideal; she was like a ghost, transparent and invulnerable. Unfortunately for her, Alban's smoke and Russ' teleportation granted them the same immunity to attacks. She had no way to tell how long it was until her destination. She'd be free the moment she set her foot on the ship. Her freedom was within her reach, so long as she kept running. She sped up, only to be met with a dead-end.

With a loud gasp, she used her semblance to avoid the two knives Alban sent flying at her, but Russ' whip coiled around her ankles as soon as its effects faded. She lost her balance and fell onto the ground, and Alban quickly immobilized her before she could reach for her weapons. "Gotcha, Rosie!" he cackled. "Got our little ghost!"

While Alban forced her on her knees, Russ grabbed her bag and yanked it away. The straps came loose, and the grey backpack hung from his hand. After giving it a quick inspection, he tossed it back at her. "So, you're going to become a Huntress, huh? That why you're in such a hurry?"

Her expression of shock and confusion must have seemed hilarious to her brothers, who guffawed at the sight of it, their laughter echoing in the vacant alley. "You thought we wouldn't find out, you moron?" Alban sneered, tightening his grip on her wrists. "Did ya forget what we are? What we do? Need me to remind ya?"

"Still, though, I'm surprised. You did a pretty good job hiding it from us, ya know. You've been studying and practicing so hard, Rosie, that you got yourself into a nice Huntsmen academy. Our little Rosie is going to Beacon Academy! Don't think it doesn't make me proud," Russ said, putting his whip away. "I just didn't know they accept thieves."

"I'm not a thief! I'm not like you!" Rosanna shouted back, struggling to hold back tears. "N-not anymore..." she added, almost inaudibly. The twins exchanged a blank glance, before breaking into a roaring fit of laughter again.

"Not like us? Not like us?" Russ repeated. "Did you hit your head or something? Or are you just this dumb? You mean to tell me you've been a lawful citizen all this time? A good little girl? Aw, Rosie, you're suck a joke!"

"Shut up!" she screamed, trying to break away from Alban's grasp, but with no success. Having used her semblance constantly to lose her pursuers, she was now unable to activate it. "Shut up!" she continued, her voice now a whine. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"It's that stupid excuse of an officer, right? She put all those crazy ideas into your head, making you believe that you can actually do it," Russ continued. "I should have taken you away from her from the start, but I figured it'd be good for us and the gang if she taught you how to fight. And it was useful. Don't you think you helped us?" Rosanna turned her head away, avoiding his piercing glance. "Fine, whatever. It's not like it matters what you think."

"You can't leave us all behind, Rosie," Alban joined in. "What will Mom and Dad say? What about the gang? And the Captain? Captain's gonna be sad if you leave. You are one of our best thieves, after all." His hand squeezed her cheeks, but she didn't bother fighting him away. "Be careful, Rosie. You aren't supposed to be doing such things. There are so many people who're gonna get angry at you if you do this, ya know. They're gonna come after you."

"And why do you go to that academy? S'far as I know, you never wanted to become a Huntress. You wanna be a hero? A fighter for humanity? Please..." Russ scoffed.

"I... I wanna get away from you," Rosanna muttered in a shaky voice. "From you two... From Mom and D-dad..." Alban laughed once more, but Russ stared down at her, deadpan serious. He knelt down in front of her and put his hand under her chin.

"And then... what?" he asked, his voice and face completely blank. Her pink eyes widened in fear. "You think you're going to be able to survive on your own? You think you're clever and strong enough to make it? You and I know very well that you're not very smart; that's why Alban and I have to tell you what to do. You always relied on us for everything, you're no good on your own. Do you really think you can make it?"

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Rosanna shook her head trying to make his words disappear from her head. "I can... Akane says that I can.. do it..."

"You aren't going to last a month," Russ went on, blatantly ignoring her. "Once you realize just what you got yourself into, you'll come running back to us. You'll come back to us, you hear me? Let her go, Alban." The youngest twin protested, but soon enough obeyed. "If you're stupid enough to believe what that woman has told you, then go ahead. Do what you wanna do. But we know you're gonna come back to us once you realize your mistake. We and the gang will be waiting for you, okay?" Smiling widely, he helped his sister up her feet and shoved her backpack into her hands. "Or you can save us the trouble and come back to Kuchinashi now."

Rosanna stood silent for a few minutes, her eyes staring at her boots, before she climbed on top of the wall behind her and run off towards the skyport, not looking back even for an instant. She was still crying, but there was no time to stop and calm down. The airship wasn't going to wait for her, and Akane would not forgive her if she missed it. "It's your dream," she used to tell her. "You have to fight hard for it. You can't let it go. It's what you really, really want, right?" Somewhere to her left, she heard a loud snorting sound, and turned to find a single Boarbatusk ready to charge at her. It must have strayed away from the pack. She was now out of the city, in the middle of a barren field, and her freedom was just a few more minutes away. Sniffling softly, she unsheathed her axes once more. A minute later, the Grimm had vanished into smoke, and she had resumed her running.

/ / /

Outside of the enormous airship waited Akane, looking more agitated than ever. "There you are! I was so worried! Where were you? What were you doing? Are you alright?" the red-haired officer asked frantically, gesturing vividly.

"I just got lost. I'm okay," Rosanna replied softly. There was no attempt on her behalf to make herself sound believable, but Akane didn't seem to notice, and if she did, she paid zero attention to it. She ushered her on the airship. Several other new recruits had settled in inside the cabin. Some were already asleep, while others were chatting in small groups.

"Go now! Remember everything I've said, and you're going to be fine!" she told her, grinning. "You're finally doing this! I couldn't be happier for you!" Rosanna couldn't hear the next sentence over the roaring engines, but caught the last bit. "...your dream!" Akane screamed, waving her student goodbye.

Rosanna waved back just as the gate was shut. She let her shoulders drop, and moved further into the cabin, trying to keep balance as the airship took flight. She found the observation deck on the front of the hull, and looked on until the lights of the city of Mistral were miniscule, like hundreds of tiny fireflies. Eventually, the city disappeared into the night, and the only thing visible was the pitch-black sea underneath them. Putting her bag down, Rosanna let out a heavy sigh.

Becoming a Huntress was never her dream; it was the dream Akane had for her. All the training and studying she'd done was for Akane, not for herself. But Rosanna felt like she did have something to win in all that; freedom from her abusers. Akane had told her that going to Beacon meant that she'd get to stay away from them. And now she had succeeded in doing so. From now on, she was starting a new life, in a new continent, with a new name. She had taken extra care to make sure no-one would recognize her, even though, thanks to her mentor, authorities in Kuchinashi still didn't know her face. She'd leave everything behind, in hopes that nothing would come after her to haunt her.

She jumped up when she felt a pat on her shoulder, and turned around, swiftly grabbing the hand that had just touched her. "Woah, sorry, I didn't wanna startle you!" Immediately, Rosanna let go of the hand of the blue-haired girl who was standing beside her. "I didn't wanna scare you. My friends and I are playing a board game, but we need one more person and most people here wanna sleep. Would you like to play with us?" The girl didn't wait for her to respond, and pulled her along towards her group of friends. "Oh, I'm Nila, by the way. You are...?"

She hesitated for a moment. The other people in the group had yet to notice the newcomer, but Nila was looking at her intensely, grinning. Eventually, she gave her a small, forced smile. "My name is Rosanna Gunt- Err, Alcmene. Rosanna Alcmene."


	3. Prologue 3 - Crystalline

**A RWBY OC Fan-fiction  
** **Prologue 3 - "Crystalline"**

"You may go," the instructor ordered after a brief moment of waiting outside of the battle arena of the primary combat academy. The white doors slid open, revealing an empty, digitally-enhanced room. "Good luck, DiCaeli."

"Thank you, sir," Malva replied and picked up her rifle _._ Her heels clicking on the tiled floor when she walked inside, she shot one last glance at the instructor behind her. From the moment he had picked her up from the student's waiting lounge until he wished her luck, he had been looking at her with a cold expression, which simply did not disappear from his face, no matter how many times she glared back. Maybe it was because she intended to go to Beacon instead of Atlas Academy after passing the examination. But it didn't matter what he thought. Her performance was about to begin.

The doors shut behind her with a slam, just as the monitor above her head lit up. Half of the screen displayed her name, face and aura level, while the other half displayed the "health points" of her opponent: a holographic projection of an anthropomorphic bot, standing at over ten feet. While it activated its shields and weapon, Malva was giving it a thorough inspection to find its weak spots. Her digital opponent was easily three times her own size and its shields protected most of its body. On one arm it had a digitally-projected blade, while the other arm had signs of auxiliary artillery. A huge, sturdy, close-range fighter, against a petite sniper. It was almost as if _someone_ didn't want her to succeed.

On the other side of the arena above the ground was the monitoring room, which during examinations doubled as a lounge area for the attending Atlesian Military officials to watch as the fights went down. Most of them were there scouting for their Academy's newest recruits, but there was one among them who was there to watch his daughter. After his retirement, her father had shown little to no interest in attending events from his past job, but this one was an exception. Malva's future was going to be decided after the end of the fight, but father and daughter had different desired outcomes. Behind the glass, she saw him staring down at her, and was reminded of how much she resembled him in appearance. Her father's cold stare pierced through the thick glass window, void of any emotion as usual. Earlier, she had seen him talking with some of the examiners. Knowing him, she wondered whether he had pulled any strings to ensure her failure. There was however, no space in her mind for these thoughts; her brain was flooding with tactics to take down the gigantic robot in front of her.

It began its advance towards her, but Malva cut off its momentum with powerful shots from her rifle. The fire dust crystals she blasted it with burst into flames upon impact; over her head, its health points began to drop. The giant they put her up against was slow and not agile, while its weapon would not harm her as long as she kept her distance. But even if it came too close, she'd simply use her semblance. Digital barriers protected most of its body, but the center of its head, as well as the core in the middle of its chest were exposed. As long as she aimed for that, its health would drop to zero before she could lose even a trace of aura. Unless her father had tampered with the difficulty level.

Making sure to stay one step ahead of the bot, she was able to dodge all of his heavy swings, shooting from a safe distance. With years of dancing experience, jumping and twirling around its armored legs was child's play, and since her opponent was too slow to pin her down or get ahold of her, she effortlessly climbed atop of it, gracefully jumped over its head and delivered one of her famous mid-air shots. The recoil pushed her back and, with the help of some air dust, she landed safely on her feet. If she were on stage, this would be the time to take a bow, but right then she was nowhere near done. While the bot was turning around itself trying to fight her, she was scattering ice dust crystal around its feet. Once within the range of her semblance, she used her dust destabilization. One, then the other, the crystals burst into sharp ice shards which held the robot in one place. Shot after shot, she broke through the protective barriers, and decreased its health in half. Yet something felt wrong; this whole exam was suspiciously easy.

Suddenly, the bot stopped moving. While reloading, she dropped the crystals she hadn't used on the ground, setting her next trap, and tried to predict what would happen next. She expected that it would try to get close; it was a well-known fact for the professors -and thus, the examiners- what her weakness in combat is. Her rifle's recoil and her semblance wouldn't always work in her favor in a close-up fight, while her tiny bayonet could not do much. Even so, she still had a few tricks. No matter what, she would not give her father the pleasure of watching her fail. She was going to prove him that this little girl, who "should focus on hobbies that suit her more, and give up on her ridiculous, absurd dreams", was not as frail as he thought.

In the blink of an eye, the bot regenerated its shields and projected a second blade on the other hand. As expected, it dashed forward, but the dust mines it set off did little to stop its course. Surprised yet still in control, she dodged its swift swing and run to the other side of the arena to go as far away from it as she could. She had the lead, but a head-on hit from her opponent in that state would diminish her a-little-below average aura level. " _So that's what you did. That's the game you want to play,_ " she thought as she was forced to go on the defensive. She managed to hit a few shots, but it did nothing to its health points. The speed of its movements and attacks soon became overwhelming, stripping her of any chance to reload and aim properly. The only thing she could do was stab and slice at the bot with her bayonet whenever she got the chance. Unable to use her rifle, her only resort was that of her semblance, but even that would prove difficult, as she couldn't get away from the explosion in time. Struggling to keep up, there was no way she could have dodged the swing. She held her rifle tight and focused all of her aura on cushioning the impact.

One hit was enough to send her all the way across the room, scattering dust crystals from her ammunition pouch. One more blow like that one, and the fight would be over; Malva couldn't curse her aura levels enough. "I told you she's weak! Fragile like a crystal!" her father would be saying mockingly right now, while the other Atlesian officers would nod along, sneering. But this was not the end. The bot's health was still lower than hers and it was now at the perfect distance. A quick check on her gear, a deep breath, and she was ready to fight back. With only four bullets in her rifle's chamber and the remaining spread over the floor, she had four clear shots and a wide variety of dust she could set off. She had to make them count.

The bot left its core exposed when it charged again, allowing Malva to aim and shoot two rounds at its "heart" before having to evade the incoming hit. Her knee throbbed when she jumped, but it was nothing an experienced performer like her couldn't ignore. Albeit faster, the bot was still not as flexible. The last two shots hit the power device directly. Its health was now a small strip of bright red. It was almost time for the finale. Pretending to aim, she baited the bot to the middle of the room, where most of the dust crystals had scattered. Since they were so close to each other, a chain reaction would be inevitable, and there were hardly any ways to avoid getting caught up in the explosion that would ensue. The best she could do was climb atop of the bot and hope her remaining aura would be enough to take the hit. One destabilized dust crystal was enough to start the elemental explosion.

/ / /

The holographic projection faded away just as the smoke began to clear. The monitors above them were now displaying only one face, Malva's. Below it, a thin strip of red was all that was left of her once full aura deposit. Her clothes and face were covered in smoke and dirt stains from the fire and ground dust, while some parts of her sleeves and shoes were under a thin layer of ice. Her purple hair was disheveled from the blast of air dust, while she had to wait for the static to go before she could pick up her weapon from the floor. Her tidy, clean appearance was nowhere to be found, and there was scarcely any stamina left in her small body. But her spirit was not as fragile.

Mustering all the strength she had left, she got up on her feet, facing the glass window and the examiners and military officials that were watching all that time. Her eyes met immediately with her father's, who was sitting at the front. With a triumphant, cocky smile on her face, she crossed one hand over her chest, stretched the other one out and took a bow. The performance had come to an end.


	4. Prologue 4 - A Start

**A RWBY OC fan-fiction**

 **Prologue 4 - "A Start"**

Surprise attacks from Grimm decreased dramatically after the caravan had begun implementing reconnaissance missions into its security strategy. It was truly tragic that so many people had to lose their lives and so many families had to be broken apart, for the caravan chiefs to start hiring actually skilled mercenaries, and not random people with some degree of fighting ability, who also happened to possess their own weapons. But better late, than never. It was a start. No member ever stopped asking "Why not earlier?", and they had every right to do so, but that question was asked fewer and fewer times now. After the caravan began recruiting Huntsmen and Huntresses, even the most fearful of its members came at ease.

Should nothing unexpected happened, the caravan would reach the city of Vale in two weeks, after two short stops at some nearby towns. The closest and largest of the two was Hawkes, which, aside from access to a port, also accommodated a small skyport. After some correspondence with the transport manager in Beacon Academy, the Junaid family had arranged that the airship transferring the new recruits of the Academy would make a brief stop at Hawkes, so that the oldest son of the family, Nix, could get there before the start of the school year. All of his things were ready, and now the only thing that separated the youngster from the skyport in Hawkes was a pack of Ursai in the forest outside of the town.

Following the other Huntsmen who were with him on the recon mission, Nix jumped into the fight. The broad surface of his shield slammed against one of the Ursai, pinning it to the ground before it was finished off by one of the teen's superiors. Annoyed that he didn't let him kill it, Nix let out a little grunt and picked up the round shield to find a next target. Although he had been practicing with it as much as he could, only in a real fight did Nix notice the difference in weight and durability between the weapon he had forged himself, and Nymphaea, the one he had decided to take to Beacon. In appearance, the two were almost identical, save for a few details; but the technical differences were obvious. Some of the mercenaries had tried to change his mind, stating that his own weapon, and not a borrowed one, is what he should have with him, but all of them admitted that every nook and cranny of Nymphaea was masterful work. After a Grimm attack months ago, its owner had no use for it; it would be a pity for such a weapon to wither away over a grave, or to gather dust in some old box. "It's meant to be wielded into battle," its previous owner use to say. And so, Nix had decided to start using it from now on.

He released a bit of air Dust from underneath the dome, and, with a strong swing of his arm, Nix threw the shield towards one of the Ursai, slicing its neck off as its flew by. He caught it right as it bounced off a boulder, maintaining the shield form of Nymphaea for a few more attacks. He was faster than the Ursai, able to swiftly dodge and block their blows, while the sharp edges of the shield were more than efficient in cutting down the Grimm. But more and more Grimm began to take on him, and since he'd gotten himself separated from the other Huntsmen, Nix was quickly forced to go on the defensive. Nymphaea was sturdy enough to hold against the three Grimm that had surrounded him, but with no other weapon to fight them off, Nix's only option was to switch to the offensive form of his weapon, but in order to do that, he had to push the Ursai away. Instead, he was getting pushed down.

Just as he felt his strength on his arms and legs leaving him and Nymphaea began trembling dangerously after every hit, the Ursa in front of him stood on its hind legs to slam its paw against his shield, while the other two stepped back in order to launch themselves at him. Using this small opening and with a boost of air Dust from the shield, he managed to make a sloppy escape, even after his unprotected side was caught up in the Ursa's claws. His aura took all of the damage, leaving him with a burning sensation on the left side of his torso and three rips along his shirt. Yet thanks to that risky attempt at an escape, Nix could now easily switch weapon forms. Nymphaea's shield split in half, and with each edge attached on the metallic grip, it extended into a dual-bladed spear. He smirked, letting out a soft chuckle; the three Ursai ahead of him would be smoke in the next few seconds.

The air Dust made Nymphaea feel lighter, allowing Nix to twirl and spin the spear around without giving the Ursai a chance to fight back. Slashing at their black bodies, the momentum from the wind made evading their desperate swings significantly easier. Nymphaea was a hand-me-down, a far more demanding weapon than the one Nix had made, and he was still miles away from mastering it. But thanks to his little patent with Dust, most people couldn't tell the difference between Nix and his mentor wielding it. The tide of the battle had now turned in favor of the white-haired youngster, who, moving along with the wind, eliminated the three Ursai and then went after the others that came in aid of their kin. With such an advantage, it was inevitable that he got a bit carried away. After all, those Grimm had taken his mentor away a few months ago, so they had to pay.

"It's already dead, Nix. Give it up." The voice of one of the other Huntsmen snapped him out of his thoughts. He realized he'd been twisting his blade in the Ursa's neck; most of its body had already evaporated into ash. "Let's get going. The caravan must have reached Hawkes by now."

"Okay~" He liberated the blade from whatever remained of the Grimm and returned Nymphaea to its basic shield form. He swung it over his shoulder and followed the mercenaries, but upon doing so, he saw the rips on his shirt for the first time. They ran from his ribs up to the chest, but other than what appeared to be a mild bruising, there was no wound. Unfortunately for him, there was no way to cover up the damage; he knew he was gonna hear it soon enough.

/ / /

A strong wind picked up when the airship touched down, blowing dirt and leaves in all directions. The gate opened, and a few new recruits took advantage of the short break to get some fresh air. One of them, a cute girl with hair the color of pines, exchanged a prolonged look and a flirty smirk with Nix before he remembered that his mother was still there, grumbling about the ripped shirt. He had already said goodbye to his four siblings, but she insisted that she absolutely had to see him off before returning to the camp. Asimi lifted her head from her son's luggage with a triumphant cry, waving a clean new shirt in the air. Completely ignoring the teenager's protests about doing this in front of the other cadets, she made him change shirts right there and then. Accidentally, he made eye-contact with the pine-haired girl again, but this time she giggled and whispered something to her friend. Off to a great start...

"There, all set up and ready now," his mother sighed with relief, straightening every last crease she found on the top. "You're very lucky you have this aura thing. I can't imagine how bad of a wound it would have been without it. And I thought you'd told me you'd be careful?" she complained, one eyebrow raised.

"And what should I have done? Let them crush me?" he retorted, raising an eyebrow as well. "Please. Put some trust in my decision-making abilities. And also, Eton's taught me well," he added with a pround beam.

"So, you're going to take his weapon," Asimi observed.

"Are you going to try to change my mind like the other Huntsmen? 'Cause I've already decided what I wanna do. And, besides," he motioned at the pilots, who were now returning to the ship, followed by the cadets, "it might be a little late now."

"No, I'm not doing such a thing. I know it's late," the woman shook her head. "I wouldn't do it either way. I think it's better to take it. It's stronger, and I know you can fight with it just as well as he could. And, it may sound like superstition, but I feel safer if you have Nymphaea. I feel as if Eton himself will be watching over you, right next to Dad and Duncan-"

"It's going to be fine. I talked with Gin, he said he'll look after you guys while I'm gone, so you don't have to worry," Nix said, picking up his things to board the airship. "I should be going."

"My my, look at you, taking care of our safety when you just barely escaped getting wounded. Promise me you'll be just as responsible as a student..." Asimi retorted, receiving a loud grunt as a response, followed by a soft laugh. "Look after yourself, Nix."

Under the sound of the roaring machines, he tried to keep his balance to get to an empty seat as the ship took off. He looked at the people around him, examining their weapons and equipment. The recruitment letter mentioned several times that Beacon Academy trained motivated, courageous individuals who wished to protect Remnant. Some looked the part, judging by their serious, focused expressions, but others seemed more care-free. Nix couldn't help but wonder which category he fell in; he wanted to fight against the Grimm, but he certainly wasn't as hardcore as some others, who had 'angst' written all over their face. Multiple questions had been flooding his head over the past weeks, concerning just what was going to happen from this point on, and, most importantly, who sent the three recommendations that the recruitment letter spoke of. Another question, though secondary, was whether he'd be forced to wear a uniform, and whether there was any way to avoid that.

Before those things could start troubling him again, a certain green-haired girl caught his attention. With a slight movement of her hand, she gestured at him, and then at the empty seat next to her. Resuming the look he was giving her earlier and donning his prettiest smile, he approached her and the red-haired guy that was sitting next to her, who had yet to notice him.

He set down his luggage and weapon just as the oriental girl let out a kittenish giggle. Judging by the mischievous twinkle in her slanted eyes, Nix could predict the first thing she'd comment on before she opened her mouth to speak. "Your mother must be such a caring and lovely lady!" Off to a great start.


	5. Chapter 1 - The Night, Moon & the Stars

**A RWBY Fan-fiction**

 **Chapter 1 - The Night Sky, the Moon and its Stars**

"We will be landing in five minutes," one of the pilots announces. Immediately, everyone on the airship rushes to the windows to catch a glimpse of Beacon Academy. Unfortunately, the weather today is not on our side; a thick layer of grey clouds obscures the scenery, as though it's going to rain. In the distance, we can faintly see the top of Beacon's Communications Tower. You can hardly hear the growling of the engines over the new students' enthusiastic chatter. It's no surprise, really. This moment is what we have all been waiting for.

It's only when Malva places her hand on my knee that I realize I've been tapping my foot on the floor impatiently. "Get a hold of yourself, Kris Leontis" she mutters. Weird, usually I don't get so nervous. I guess the excitement has gotten the best of me as well. On the surface, she looks completely calm, ready for everything. That's how she confronts every new challenge that she has to face. But I've known her for ten years and I know that behind her composed expression, her mind is racing. I can tell by the way she slightly squeezes my leg that she's impatient as well. I can't help but smile; everyone's fired up.

As soon as the aircraft comes to a full halt, we all get up and pick up our luggage. My back and my tail feel a little sore after so many hours of travelling from our hometown to the Academy. The gate opens, and each one of us gets off just as it begins to rain. Malva seems to struggle with her two enormous suitcases, but refuses my help. The other new students rush to the building ahead, but we take our time. This is the moment we've been dreaming of; we want to enjoy every second of it. Though I hate getting wet, a little rain isn't enough to ruin it.

As we cross the avenue to the main building, a wave of different emotions hits me. I can't distinguish all of them, but there's one that overtakes the rest: pride. I'm proud I've made it this far. Despite all the obstacles, despite the difficulties, I'm here. I wonder if that is how my parents felt when they walked down the same road so many years ago. When I told my family about wanting to attend Beacon, they laughed -in a good way- and said that it was written in the stars. That it was fate that their son would want to follow in their footsteps. I agree somewhat; growing up, all their stories of action and adventure mesmerized me. Even when tragedy struck, I never once thought about doing something different. But fate didn't bring me here today; hard work, sacrifices, and my family's support did.

No matter how you look at it, it's corny, I know. But I can't help it. Right now, they're the only people I can think of. I'm still somewhat worried about Meli, since it's the first time she and I are apart. But she'll be heading off to Signal in no time, and I know she'll be alright. Two new Huntsmen arrived in our town, Nemea, just a month ago, so I know my parents will have help with fighting off Grimm. And I'm here, for all four of us. The sacrifices were mostly on their part, not mine. I'm here because of them, their faith in me and the countless hours they spent preparing me for the days that will come after today. I cannot attribute all that to fate. I cannot thank the stars, except for one, maybe. It'd be a lie to say I'm not thankful to attend Beacon with Malva.

Several other new cadets have gathered around the statue at the entrance, so we stop to take a look as well. I've seen it in pictures countless times. The majority of my parents' photos from their student years have this statue in their background. I can't wait til I can take one as well with my own team. "So, here we are," I hear a laughing voice behind me, which belongs to a white-haired guy using his shield as an umbrella. I can't help but laugh along with him and the other new students. Looking over at Malva, I see she's smiling too, her eyes gleaming with a spark that doesn't surface often. This is it. This is where the defining chapter of our lives begins.

* * *

The first time I saw it in a picture, I thought that Beacon Academy is kinda gloomy. Maybe it's the gothic style, or the grey and black colors. But now that it's dark and raining outside, and with little light in the ballroom, it reminds me of a haunted castle. But I don't regret the choice I made. I'm here, and I'm happy about that.

A couple of hours ago, the last of the new students arrived and settled in the ballroom. The headmaster, Professor Ozpin, welcomed us and gave us a little speech, but, to be honest, I wasn't really paying attention. This hall was so crowded, I got anxious and spent most of the headmaster's speech looking for the group of people I met at the ship on the way here. I know I have to be more careful and responsible. This is a very prestigious academy, and I have to try my best. My mentor has invested so much in me, and I cannot let her down, no matter what I think about this. Besides, I guess this is what I wanted too.

"Rosanna? You zoned out?" Nila's voice makes me snap out of my thoughts immediately. I met Nila yesterday on the airship, and so far we've been getting along well. I think I could say that I've made a friend. The other girls are looking at me like they're expecting me to say something.

"Sorry. Can you repeat, please?" Gosh, I'm lame.

"We were saying that we have to wake up early tomorrow, so we get ready on time," another girl says. I don't remember her name, but then again I can't remember if we've talked to each other before.

I want to ask what we're doing tomorrow, because I obviously didn't hear when the professors told us, but I'm gonna look like an idiot if I do. "Uh, yeah, right. I agree." They seem satisfied with my response, and whatever conversation they had earlier continues.

We (well, _they,_ I just listen) keep chatting for another hour, before they decide to go to sleep, like most of the other students have done already. To be honest, though, I'm not tired at all. I haven't done anything tiring today, and I'm too worked up for tomorrow, even though I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen. I follow Nila and the others into the bathroom to change into our pajamas, and then I pretend to fall asleep like the rest of them. At some point, the large door on top of the stairs opens, a professor comes in to check on us, then leaves again. I lift my head a little, only to find that everyone else is sleeping peacefully. I stand up as quietly as I can, wrapping the blanket around my bare shoulders, and after I make sure that no one is awake to notice me, I slip softly, like a breeze, through the others and all the way up to the stairs. In times like this, my semblance is pretty useful.

I check one more time to make sure no one has seen me, and then go through the door like a ghost. In the enormous hallway beyond the ballroom, there is complete silence. _Perfect._ I love the peacefulness of the moment; it's so calming. Yet I feel vulnerable at the same time. I'm in an unfamiliar place, wearing nothing but sweatpants, a tank top and a blanket, without my weapons. But I can't let my anxiety get me again. No, I have to stay calm. _Calm down, Rosanna Guntram!_ _No, not Guntram! I'm using Alcmene now! Rosanna Alcmene!_ Once I've regained my composure, I begin strolling around and exploring. I have to avoid getting lost, so I just head towards the other end of the empty hallway. The rain has stopped by now, and the shattered moon shines brightly into the corridor. The grey clouds around it create shadows all over the walls. It _really_ feels like a haunted castle. But then again, I'm kind of a ghost myself. I fit right in.

At the end of the hallway, there's a large window door that leads to a small desolate balcony. I look both ways before I phase through the door, and the cold air of the night hits me right as my body goes back to normal. It's silent and desolate, just me and the dark grey gargoyle sitting on top of the balcony's corner. I've managed to find the driest part of the stone floor, and sit with my knees to my chest on top of the blanket. It's a new sensation for me; usually, whenever I sat atop a roof back home, there were always the lights of Kuchinashi's nightlife underneath me. The inns and taverns and pubs were always open till late, and the same went for Mistral too. But here, there's nothing but the campus as far as I can see. It's not that bad, though. If it weren't cold, I could probably spend the night here, next to the gargoyle. My mentor, Akane, would say that I shouldn't isolate myself like that and that I should take some proper rest. But she's not here, so I'm free to stay up late and wander around.

Freedom is a weird thing for me. Now that I have it, I don't know what to do with it. Even though I know that nobody will recognize me here and that I'm safe, I'm still nervous. I don't have anyone to control me, which is a good thing, I guess, but I don't know what to do. _What if Russ was right?_ No, he isn't. He can't be. I can fight, so I'm gonna be okay. I've already made a friend, maybe, so I guess it'll be okay. Leaned against the stone wall behind me, I close my eyes for what feels like a few seconds, but when I open them again, the moon has faded, and the sky is changing colors. I dozed off! I've got no idea what time it is, so I pick up my blanket and return as fast and as quietly as I can to the ballroom.

Back there, everyone's still sleeping. I fade and slip back into my previous place, opposite of Nila, and curl up next to the window. I check to make sure that all my belongings are still there, and then lean my head against the window. I completely lost track of time walking around the school and I don't know how long I was asleep in the balcony. What if someone saw me? Then again, how visible was I, behind the thick balcony bars and the gargoyle? It's almost dawn now; the first rays of the sun seep through the glass windows and land straight onto my face. It's somewhat soft, though, so it doesn't blind me. Such a pretty color- this warm red that surrounds the sun. It's a lot different from the cold, white light of last night's moon.

* * *

It's still very early when I wake up. I was worried that, being in an unfamiliar environment, I would be unable to sleep soundly, but I feel well-rested. Then again, it could be the adrenaline. With one quick glance around, I see that everyone is still asleep, except for one blonde girl at the other side of the room, who looks like she's just woken up. I give myself one more minute of rest before I start to get ready. _Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven._..

" _One_." I push the blanket away and get up. Everything I'll need lays neatly by the pillow; next to me, Kris is still sleeping, face-down, his tail curled around his leg. I give him a very soft nudge, even though I know there's no way he'd oversleep. He's too disciplined to oversleep. As I make my way to the locker rooms, I stumble on someone's bag, and recognize it belongs to the same guy I complained to about leaving his stuff wherever yesterday. I kick it on his feet and walk away as he mutters something unintelligible. I do not have the faintest idea who he is, but I hope I don't get him as my partner for the next four years.

Thanks to Kris' parents, both of them Huntsmen and graduates of Beacon, I know what is going to happen today. Although they persistently refused to tell me what the examination includes, I know that today, our partners and teams will be determined. Honestly, it was painfully difficult to coax it out of them, but I knew that they would give in after a point, even without Kris' cooperation. I've been told I'm stubborn to the core, and it's true. In the end, it gets me what I want. So, today, I'm going to meet the people with whom I'll spend the rest of my years in Beacon Academy. Kris is already one of those people; he will surely be in my team, and, if things go as I want them to, he'll be my partner too.

Therefore, today is a special day. I get dressed in an almost ritualistic manner, making sure everything is fitting perfectly, before moving on to make-up. Despite the slight nervousness I'm feeling, my hand is ever-steady, so the eyeliner comes out perfectly. I have no reason to be nervous, though. I am ready for this. Today, I'm going to prove everyone who ever doubted me wrong. _I am more than just ready._ I pick up the tiny box by my make-up bag. I have deliberately not opened Kris's gift to me until this morning, for no specific reason. _"To the mallow,"_ reads the card, in Kris's clear handwriting. Under the card, there's a pair of elegant gold earrings. " _I couldn't find anything star-shaped. I know you're particularly fond of stars, but these ones aren't all bad (I hope). Best of luck in Beacon."_

With this last addition, all that's missing from the final picture is my rifle. I take one last glance at the mirror; they may be a bit formal, those new earrings, but they're lovely still. I stride out of the bathroom with confidence, high heels clicking on the tiled floor, as some other girls walk in. I hear them whispering; I don't know if they're talking about me, but they don't really matter.

The boy with the stray bag doesn't matter either. But he doesn't seem to realize that, as he decides it's best to pester me about kicking his bag to him earlier. Has the idiot been waiting outside of the bathroom to do just that? I ignore him- of course- and return to Kris, who has noticed the boy and tries to calm him down, but to no avail. So much for hoping for a quiet, peaceful morning, really. It takes every ounce of my self-restraint to not reply to the things he shouts at me. Knowing my miniscule patience, that man is playing with fire at the moment. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" the idiot shouts, looking down at me.

"Malva Stella DiCaeli!" I respond. Kris and a friend of that boy step in, and it stops there. But the whispering continues.

I'll tell you who I am. _I am the one who's always going to be ahead of you. You don't matter. You can't ever stand in my way._ I'll show you all. I'll show you strength. I'll show you a star whose light is blinding for the likes of you.

* * *

It's a very good thing that the two guys stepped in to break the fight when they did, cause otherwise I believe I would have witnessed my first student fight. The Faunus friend of that purple-haired girl almost had to drag her out of the argument. I bet next step was to pick her up and carry her away. It was almost comical yesterday, when someone as tiny as her managed to kick that huge backpack two feet away. I'm not saying that she's in the wrong, but there _had_ to be another way to prove her point. Still though, it surprises me how she's ready to throw hands so early in the morning. With her pale skin, preppy outfit and the way she's giving everyone that death stare, she looks like a pissed-off porcelain doll.

"I wouldn't act so bossy if I were five feet tall," Altan, the guy I met yesterday at the airship, laughs.

"Aw, but she looks like she can pack a punch," I say. "Or a kick."

"Still, she's acting like she owns the place, don't ya think, Nix?" Yuina nudges me on the shoulder. I shrug.

I get done dressing up, take my shield and follow Altan and Yuina, who seems very much pumped about today, to the cafeteria. There's a small variety of things to choose from, and plenty of coffee. I fill two cups and help a blonde girl in black and pink figure out how the dispenser works. In return, she offers to put some plastic jelly packages on my plate, since my hands are full. As I try to balance the cups and the plate while finding an empty seat on the tables, I pass by the purple-haired girl and her friend. Their height difference is funny, really. If they're together, it's practically a long-distance relationship. _Are they even together?_ They sit at the other side of the cafeteria, while I head where Altan is sitting. We spend most of our breakfast chatting and joking about what the exam will be; some other people from nearby tables join the conversation. It's nice to see that these guys are relaxed about the whole thing, and not some overly-serious, constantly-on-edge fellows... not like Pissed-Off Porcelain Doll.

I knew I was going to find people like her here. The kind of people who are way too ambitious and focused on their goals to even know how to not take things so seriously. I got into this academy not knowing exactly what to expect, while I'm pretty sure she's already planned out the whole school year. I wonder if her faunus friend is like that too. Whatever the case, I don't think I could ever get along with Pissed-Off Porcelain Doll. She and I are total opposites. Like night and day.

We finish breakfast and return to the ballroom. A voice announces that we have to present ourselves at the Beacon Cliff immediately. Thankfully, Altan knows where that is, so I follow him. We arrive at the cliff; underneath us, a vast, vivid-green forest spreads out as far as the eye can see. Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch tell us what we have to do: Enter Emerald Forest, find a partner after landing and retrieve a relic from a designated site within the northern part of the forest, all the while looking out for the Grimm lurking around. Then, return to the cliff with your partner, and get coupled up with another pair to form a team. And all that, while being watched and graded. _Awesome._ Some people look like they're ready to give up before we even start.

At first, no one gets the 'get launched into the air' part, but once realization kicks in, a lot of students begin to protest quietly. They're completely right; it's not every day that we have to do this, and I'm not very fond of heights. I'm not even entirely sure how on Remnant I'm gonna be able to land. The headmaster and the professor, however, are unaffected by our complaints. Naturally. Maybe it's going to be okay, though. As long as I don't look down, I can get through with this. I'll use the air Dust in my shield and try for a smooth landing. I'd like to think that they wouldn't let any of us die, but they're literally throwing us from a cliff into a Grimm-infected forest. Doesn't inspire confidence... Though, I guess I'm not all that worried about the Grimm.

We get into position and are fired into the sky one by one. Some are actually quite cheerful about being thrown into the air, while the rest of us, who are logical, sane people, let out little gasps of fear. Around me, everyone is frantically searching for ways to land safely, but I've frozen completely. Maybe it's from the shock or the scare of seeing the Academy campus and the forest from above, but for a brief moment, it feels as if I can't move an inch. Right then, there's a sound like roaring thunder, and a figure flies past me like a shooting star in the night. I don't recognize them, but the sound is loud enough to make me snap out of the scare, and as the adrenaline and the intensity of the moment take over, I feel an urge to laugh.

I'm flying over the forest, with a fear of heights, in order to get to a hidden location and take a mysterious item, all the while fighting any Grimm I find with a person that I just met. And after crossing the finish line, I'm gonna officially be a Beacon Academy student. I don't know why I'm laughing, but I can't seem to stop, even as I begin to lose altitude. _Heh_. I think, in the end, I'm going to enjoy coming here!


	6. Chapter 2 - Carmine Fortune

Having been caught by surprise, Kris and Malva had little time to react, though in the few seconds available, both came up with the same tactic. The two gunners used their weapons to maintain their altitude and control their descend, but the recoil of Malva's sniper rifle was far greater than that of Kris's. As a result, she flew further ahead, leaving her friend to figure out a way to land on his own. He wasn't the only one who faced some difficulty staying airborne; Rosanna, with no way to keep flying, was quietly but frantically searching for a safe way to get back on the ground.

Switching between his rifle's firing settings and retractable blades, Kris fired and cut through the thick branches, slowing down just enough to have better control of where he was going. His tail provided him with enough stability to maintain his balance. Even so, overtaken by the momentum, he ended up landing with a clumsy roll, but stood up quickly and scanned the area around him. His semblance allowed him to see through the lush vegetation of Emerald Forest, spotting human silhouettes between the trees ahead of him. It was too hard to distinguish between them, and nearly impossible to locate Malva amidst them.

But when a blast echoed in the woods, he identified it as her rifle's, and began running towards that sound, followed by the figure of a girl running along with him. Through his vision, the girl -outlined in pink after her aura- was seen jumping from branch to branch, using her chains to help with her leaps. It was unclear whether she'd taken notice of him or of the small pack of Ursai heading towards them. It appeared that the Grimm hadn't sensed them either, but they were certainly about to.

At the first chance he got at a clear shot, he fired a series of bullets at the four advancing Ursai, stopping them in their tracks. Aggravated, they charged at him, but were met first with powerful shots, and then with slashes from Cerberus's blades. With his semblance, Kris made sure he could avoid another attack from any Grimm lurking nearby. But right then, just as he eliminated one of the Ursai, the girl who was running away a few seconds ago jumped into the fight. The blades attached to the end of her chains pinned down one of the Grimm, allowing Kris to finish it off with one blast from Cerberus's semi-automatic mode. Rosanna pulled the blades back, reconnecting them to the pommels of her axes. They exchanged a brief glance, before going after the remaining two monsters.

Swift like the wind, the blonde girl cut through the Ursa's black fur with her two weapons, while the lion faunus fired at the last Grimm. The two fought side-by-side without ever saying a word to each other, though it seemed unnecessary, since both could deal with the monsters on their own. But just as they finished up, Kris spotted one larger Ursa hidden between the trees ready to lunge at the girl. The round of bullets he shot did nothing to stop it. "Watch out!" he yelled, ready to jump into its way, but she did not move a muscle. The Ursa jumped right through her body, its teeth biting into the air, and landed by her side. One blast from Kris's rifle was enough to disorientate it, before it was relieved of its pain by a final swing of Rosanna's weapon.

"Are... are you hurt?" Kris asked after she had sheathed her axes.

Almost immediately, her apathetic expression switched into a more flustered one. "Uh, no, no! I'm fine. That's just my semblance. But, um, thanks for the heads-up. I hadn't seen a thing," Rosanna said.

"That's... _my_ semblance," he chuckled. "Anyway, my name's Kris. It looks like we're partners. Nice to meet you."

She nodded her head eagerly in response. "I'm Rosanna G- Um, Rosanna Alcmene. Nice to meet you too. Uh, so now we have to..." she began but trailed off. Once again, the blast from a rifle echoed through Emerald Forest.

"Let's head north, to where the relics are located. Right now the way ahead is clear, but it's possible there's more Grimm hidden around," Kris replied, examining the distance ahead with his semblance. Malva was giving him hints of her location, but she was still too far away. "Ready to go?" he added. Rosanna nodded again, and sprinted after him.

* * *

For someone who had never had to recover from being launched into the sky, Nix was very satisfied with his landing. If it weren't for his fear of heights, he might have enjoyed it more. He had yet to come in contact with anyone, and he hadn't even been unlucky enough to encounter a Grimm. Assuming that it was simply because of the fact that he'd landed farther ahead from the others, he kept on walking leisurely, until he reached a clearing, where he heard heavy footsteps. To his dismay, they belonged to a pack of Beowolves. The thunderous sound of a firing weapon he'd heard earlier was repeated, but he had no time to think about who was behind it. Switching into his weapon's spear mode, he made the first attack against the Grimm.

A few minutes into the fight, Nix remembered that he was being monitored, and, as someone who had gotten accepted through recommendations, he felt he ought to demonstrate his best moves. A rather easy feat, considering that the Beowolves were not a difficult match for him. However, throughout the fight, he kept hearing the thunderous blast getting louder and louder, until he finally realized it was coming from the other end of the clearing. He paused just for a moment in order to catch a glimpse of the deafening weapon's owner, but was stunned at the sight of them; Pissed-off Porcelain Doll jumped out of the trees chased by a lone Beowolf, and with the most graceful leap, she delivered her pursuer's final blow mid-air. Propelled by air Dust, Malva landed right next to Nix, who had momentarily forgotten about the Grimm on his side of the clearing.

"Save it," she said strictly just as he opened his mouth to speak. "You're nowhere near done." She unloaded the remaining Dust rounds and threw them at the Grimm that Nix was keeping at bay, showering it with ice shards. She glared back at him with the most disapproving look, until Nix returned to the fight.

Malva remained in one place, shooting bullet after bullet in a kneeling position. As much as she wanted to show off her skills, she had to maintain her aura at a healthy level if she wanted to last throughout the examination. She could still fight, but even so she fell back on providing cover fire for him, just to give her aura a small break after using her semblance so much. Covering him was, as a sniper, an expertise of hers, but his jumping around only made her job harder; instead of focusing on just one, Nix attacked several Grimm simultaneously with his weapon, forcing her to aim at the ones further back. The only thing she knew about him -her partner- was his fighting style. He wasn't Kris, but she couldn't change it now. There was still time for her to find him, but she had to hurry up. Once the last of the Beowolves had dissolved into smoke, she walked over, holstering her rifle on her back.

"Hey," he began. After that morning's luggage incident, Nix had decided he'd rather be on the Porcelain Doll's good side, and so he tried to make himself sound as friendly as possible. "I'm Nix Junaid. That was quite the impressive-"

"Malva Stella DiCaeli. Call me Malva," she cut him off. Her tone was stern, borderline-angry. "We must get going. I caught a glimpse of a temple before landing in the forest; that's where we've got to go. Hurry up." Without uttering another word, she turned around and began striding deeper into the woods, leaving Nix wondering _why_ he had been expecting things to go differently.

From the moment he began following her, neither had made an attempt to start a conversation; they trekked in complete silence, broken only by the birds flying over their heads and the occasional crunching sound of a twig breaking under their shoes. There were a lot of things he wanted to comment on, yet the thought of the trouble he'd get himself into if he spoke made Nix keep his mouth shut. Instead, he quietly blamed his fortune -or rather, his misfortune- for ending up like this, while Malva was calculating her current chances of finding Kris.

Right when Nix was beginning to think that they were both horribly lost, she proved him wrong; Malva had successfully led him to an abandoned temple that Headmaster Ozpin had mentioned in the instructions he gave them. Cautiously, the two fighters approached the half-broken building, their attention falling on the pedestals, each of which held a rectangular card. Intrigued, they walked closer to them, inspecting the designs on the cards.

" _These_ are the relics we're supposed to take? _Tarot cards_? I was expecting something a bit more... relic-like?" Nix picked up one of the cards to examine its sides. "I can actually kinda read tarot. My sister's pretty good at it, so she showed me how to-" he began eagerly, but upon noticing that she was blatantly ignoring him, stopped with a grunt. "The cards say that I'm gonna have a bad time..."

"What are you even blabbering about?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. The purple-haired sniper seemed to have her eyes set on a card with flames painted intricately over it. "We're taking this one."

"Right, okay," Nix responded, flinging the card he was holding carelessly back onto the pedestal. "Let's leave, then. We've got a cliff to climb."

Malva glared at him with the same disapproval as earlier. "We're not going anywhere yet." She turned around and proceeded to fire a round into the air, which echoed throughout the area.

"You're gonna attract Grimm that way," Nix remarked, but received no reply from Malva, who kept her gaze fixed on the forest behind them. "Okay, you know what? I know you're pissed off because you didn't get your faunus boyfriend as your partner, but could you at least try to hide it?"

"My _what_?" she retorted, shooting him a vicious glare. "Are you completely dumb?"

"See? You _are_ mad as hell."

"Tsk." She rolled her eyes, pulled a stray strand of purple hair away from her face and looked back at Nix. "I will be if I don't get Kris in my team. And _do not call him my 'boyfriend'._ Now, as far as you're concerned, well... Your attitude will determine whether I can come to terms with this turn of events. So far, I believe I may be able to tolerate it." She averted her glare before adding in a whisper, "At least you're not the guy I argued with this morning..."

"Tolerate it?" he repeated. "Hah! What an honor!" But their argument was cut off by a loud 'bang' from the woods behind them. Instantly, Malva's eyes widened with surprise as two figures leapt out of the forest; Kris, who was still too far away for them to hear what he was shouting, led the way, followed by a blonde girl. "Well, would you look at that! There's your friend! Happy now? Will that make 'tolerating me' a little easier?"

"Behind you!" Kris's voice finally became audible, but his warning came a little too late. If it hadn't been for Nix's quick reflexes, who shielded himself and Malva with Nymphaea, the two would have been crushed under the body of the Ursa Major that leaped suddenly out of the trees.

Rosanna's chains coiled around its neck while she jumped over its head, her weight pulling the enormous Grimm back, giving Kris a clear shot at its chin and throat. It staggered on its hind legs in pain, eventually falling over. This short break before the Major could attack again was the perfect chance for Nix and Malva to recover from the event and fully grasp the situation. Her dark-blue eyes, filled with shock and traces of concern, shifted between Kris and Nix, who was occupied with making sure the Grimm hadn't scratched his shield's paint job. In spite of what had just happened, he seemed strangely calm. After a reassuring nod from Kris, the sniper was combat-ready once again; Rosanna regrouped with them just as the Ursa got back on its feet.

"Hey, the girl with the coffee!" Nix quickly recognized the girl in the distinctive black-and-pink outfit. "Rosanna, wasn't it? Don't look so scared!" he told the blonde. "Their bone plates are tough as nails but their underside isn't armored. As long as you hit that, it'll be over in no time."

The girl looked back at him with wide pink eyes. "That's not what I'm worried about," she said softly. "Just that..."

"Ursai hunt in packs," Malva completed the girl's sentence.

"There's two more coming this way, but it looks like the others are normal," Kris said, his eyes glowing yellow upon activating his semblance. "Let's take this one down and get out of here, before its buddies arrive."

"You got a plan?" Nix asked, taking a defensive stance against the Grimm. Next to him, Rosanna prepared her next swing.

"Sort of. Malva, find a safe spot! The rest, scatter around! We'll attack whenever it focuses its attention on just one of us!"

Following Kris's directions, Malva run away from the temple and kept close behind him, making sure she was within her semblance's range. While she got herself into position, Kris, Rosanna and Nix fended off the Ursa's swipes and swings and attacked from every direction whenever they got a chance. The lion faunus's idea seemed to be working, but the Ursa quickly got frustrated by the small swarm of close-range fighters surrounding it, and began flailing its huge arms around violently. Rosanna's semblance allowed her to evade with ease, but Kris and Nix fell victim to those attacks more than once.

"Rosanna, can you keep it down with your chains?" Kris asked, having just barely escaped getting slashed. Rosanna nodded positively and a few seconds later she'd managed to pull off the trick she'd done earlier. It balanced on its hind legs while she rode on its back, standing on its spikes. "Malva!" There was no need for him to say more. Knelt a few feet behind him, the sniper shot two powerful blasts, which burst and trapped the Ursa Major into sharp ice shards. Rosanna used all her might to pull the Grimm further back, eventually bending its back to expose its pitch-black belly.

"You don't have to tell me!" Nix shouted before the lion faunus could speak. Kris shot at the Ursa's head and Nix managed his strongest blow, successfully cutting the Grimm in two. Rosanna jumped away right before it dissolved. "You said there's more?" Nix asked once he'd caught his breath.

"There _were_. I can't find them now," Kris replied, some faint panting in his voice. "I doubt they decided to leave, so maybe they run into other students. But our mission is to grab a relic and make it back to the cliff, right? It's no problem if we can avoid fighting those Ursai."

"I agree. We should get outta here before they come to avenge their friend," Nix said, earning a nod of approval from Rosanna. "You two need to go grab a card."

"This one's twin is on the third pedestal from the left," Malva informed them, showing the tarot card she'd already taken. Once both of the flame cards were under their possession, the four aspiring Huntsmen run towards the cliff.

Halfway through the sprint towards the ancient stone bridge ahead, the two Ursai Kris had seen earlier eventually emerged out of the forest, blocking the teenagers' path. "Malva?" Kris muttered, but she had already taken her firing position.

One Ursa was immediately immobilized by ground Dust, making it easy prey for Rosanna's blades. Malva quickly moved on to the one that Kris and Nix were fighting, but a sudden rumble of the earth underneath her caused her shot to miss its original mark. Instead of the head, the Dust bullet hit the Ursa's shoulder, and the small boulder that was produced came apart, stones falling on Nix's head.

"Hey! That was on purpose, wasn't it?!" he yelled upon killing the wounded Grimm, but everything in his expression changed when he looked at the threatening shadow looming above the petite sniper.

"Get away from there!" Kris yelled at Malva, who managed to ungainly evade the monster's claws before it could pin her on the ground. The lion faunus rushed to her aid immediately, distracting the enormous newcomer long enough for Malva to trap with ground Dust. One wrong move on Kris's behalf, however, and he was thrown towards the others with a violent swing from the Grimm's arms.

"Dammit... There's no end to them, is there?" he grunted. In front of the four teenagers, a massive Ursa Major, bigger than the previous one, struggled intensely to free itself from Malva's trap. Though it had two arrows sticking out of its back, it shook and turned lively, as if in an adrenaline-induced rage. Just as Kris got back on his feet, the Grimm yanked its hinder leg out of the stones, and it was a matter of time before it could move freely again.

"Let's finish it off! It's half-dead already!" Nix shouted, preparing to counter-attack.

"Are you _blind_? What part of it is half-dead?" Malva cried back, visibly startled by her partner's idea. "The bridge is right there, let's just go!"

"You certainly don't look like someone who could outrun a raging Ursa..."

"And _you_ certainly look like someone who'd think he could _kill_ a raging Ursa Major!" Malva shouted annoyed, loading her rifle.

"I actually ha-"

"You guys!" Kris interrupted, the moment the Ursa Major broke free. "Run to the bridge!"

They all headed for the stone structure in an attempt to outrun the injured but not particularly tired Grimm. The monster, however, caught up with long leaps and brought its body down on the bridge, the impact shaking the stones hard enough to the point of cracking. A second lunge and a part of the pavement underneath their legs gave in, causing Nix, who had accidentally lagged behind, to lose his footing.

His fall into the cliff below was prevented by the lion faunus, who caught him in the last moment. "Again, what part of it is half-dead?" Kris smiled. "I'm Kris."

"Nix. Ugh, do you two operate on the same frequency or something?" Nix grunted, but grabbed onto him as tightly as he could, avoiding to look down at all costs, while Kris pulled him back onto the bridge.

After its lunge, the Ursa had landed in a narrowing of the stone path, and was stuck between the two girls from one side, and Nix and Kris on the other. With each of the Ursa's stomping steps, the bridge shook more and more dangerously. But with minimum space to move around in, they couldn't fight the Grimm openly. The bridge, rather than the Ursa, was taking most of the damage.

"What now?" the white-haired teen asked, rubbing the back of his head. "It's gonna break the bridge and take us down with it."

"It's too risky to fight all-out like earlier. There's not enough space, and the more that thing moves around, the faster it's gonna destroy the bridge," Kris remarked with furrowed eyebrows. "The structure might give in before we can even take the Grimm down..."

"Darned thing won't die either. Just why is it struggling?" Nix groaned. "It's stopped jumping around too... I was kinda hoping it'd miscalculate and fall down on its own..." At the sound of that, he noticed Kris's face light up with an idea. " _Please_ don't tell me..."

"We make it fall over," Kris said in all seriousness, to Nix's dismay. "Malva and I had attempted this another time, but it was just over a small cliff. It's gonna be trickier this time, but it'll work with the four of us. As long as we're lucky, and you're not too afraid of heights, it's gonna be fine."

"W-who, me? _Pfft_! N-no!" Nix tried to shrug it off, breaking into an uneasy grin. "And, tell me... did it work, back then? Eh? Hey..." The fact that the lion faunus didn't reply only augmented Nix's nervousness.

"Malva, let's tip it over!" Kris cried out at her, to which the girl replied with her eyes widening as if remembering something.

The sniper glanced around quickly, until she finally found a nice spot atop a half-broken stone tower, just a Dust-boosted jump away from her. "Understood. Cover me!" She got up and sprinted towards the ledge of the bridge, dropping a single gravity Dust crystal next to her feet right before she jumped. The destabilized Dust gave her the momentum to make the jump, and she landed gracefully on top of the tower, from where she had a clear view of the target in front of her.

"Nix, can you piss it off a bit more?" Kris asked, readying his weapon. The white-haired boy exhaled deeply, gestured positively, and proceeded to pester the Ursa with quick but visibly more cautious attacks. He managed to balance on the ledges, evade most of the Ursa's attacks and -most importantly for him- avoid falling over.

"Rosanna, spread your chains near its legs the moment it tries to counter-attack." Kris took a few shots at the Grimm, diverting its attention towards him.

"Like, to trip it?" the blonde inquired, joining Nix in his task to annoy the Grimm.

"Yes, exactly! Let's just make sure the bridge doesn't fall before the Ursa does," Kris responded, running into the fight as well. "It'll lose its balance, and the moment Malva's blast pushes it back, we attack."

Rosanna and Nix exchanged a quick glance, and then a nod with Kris. The idea was plausible, though difficult, since the aggravated Grimm gave them little space to dodge its hits, which were becoming more desperate by the seconds. Between delivering and evading blows, Kris managed to explain to the other two the details of the plan: The three of them would attempt to 'corner' it towards the ledge. Once it stood up to deal a more serious blow, Malva's shot would force it to stagger back; Rosanna's chains would cause it to trip and hopefully fall over the ledge. And if _that_ wasn't enough, another round of shots and attacks definitely would be.

"You still haven't told me whether it succeeded the last time you did that!" Nix insisted, earning a little smirk from Kris as his only reply.

Luckily for Nix, Kris's plan came along nicely. The Ursa Major, fed up with the irritating attacks, stood up on its hinder legs to lunge itself at its first target, who happened to be the lion faunus. But before it could raise its claws into the air, Malva's rifle blasted like rolling thunder, the sound echoing throughout the area. The shot found its mark, scraping the Grimm's head bone plate clean off. The monster let out a loud roar and tried to recover, before another shot pierced through its belly. Right then, Rosanna's opportunity came around.

The girl whipped her chains on the bridge, lodging the axe blades into the stones, and pulled them back, creating an extended line that successfully tripped the Grimm over. "Watch your step," she whispered, her eyes fixed onto the monster.

The bridge shook once more, but they had almost pulled their plan off. "Let's finish it off," Nix nudged Kris on the shoulder, and the lion faunus nodded his head. With the final blows delivered, the Ursa Major was pushed off the bridge, falling with a deafening deep roar. Small parts of the bridge came apart when Rosanna recovered her blades, yet for the most part it could still hold them, as long as they were quick to move further ahead.

Once the tension of the fight began to fade away, small bursts of soft laughter broke out. Nix couldn't stop joking about Kris's idea, while the lion faunus and Rosanna were quickly engaged in a somewhat comical dialogue, consisting of Kris profusely apologizing for making her "the bait", and Rosanna, all flustered, insisting that "It was okay! I have my semblance". Even Malva broke into a relieved smile, though she'd never admit how much of a scare she got when she turned around only to come face-to-snout with an enraged Ursa Major.

The finish line of the Initiation Exam -the cliff- was now just above them, and without losing any time they headed back to the Academy grounds. As much of a surprise as it was to find the Ursa already wounded from a previous battle, none could say why it'd come after them and not its previous offenders. However, with no one who could recognize the arrows and no one eager to look into the matter any further, the four new friends quickly forgot about it. But, when Rosanna looked behind her before Nix pulled her up on the cliff, she could swear there was a blue-haired girl down below, waving at them.

* * *

"Altan Belmont, Vivian Blackbourne, Yuina Mori, Nila Thalatta. The four of you retrieved the Sun cards. From this day forward, you will be working together as team NAVY." Nila seemed hyper while Professor Ozpin announced her team, often looking back at Rosanna in the audience to give her her brightest grin. The blonde would smile back every time, while Nix next to her tried to make Altan laugh on stage, but with no success. "Led by... Nila Thalatta. Congratulations."

At the sound of that, the blue-haired girl couldn't contain her enthusiasm and got off the stage with a skip in her step, heeding no attention to Vivian, a black-haired faunus, who tried to calm her down. The wolf faunus exchanged a subtle but friendly greeting with Kris and Malva, and rushed her overenthusiastic partner to the back of the room. Yuina and Altan, who had managed to pair up during Initiation, seemed very content with their results, even though Yuina's and Nix's teases to the red-haired teenager for being the only male in his team wouldn't stop. After the applause, it was time for the next team.

"Nix Junaid, Kris Leontis, Malva Stella DiCaeli, Rosanna Alcmene," Ozpin announced. Once on stage, Rosanna's fingers began to tremble, while even Kris, whom she thought was confident, appeared nervous and impatient. Before the headmaster spoke again, Malva yanked Nix's hand out of his pocket, forcing him to stand more formally and earning an annoyed, quiet groan. "The four of you retrieved the Flames card. From this day forward, you will be working together as team KRMN [Carmine], led by... Kris Leontis. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir!" he responded immediately, a bit louder than his usual tone of voice. Even though he wasn't jumping around like Nila, his beaming face was the same nonetheless. Malva displayed her habitual confident smirk, while Nix and Rosanna, who couldn't help but smile at their team leader's jolly expression, clapped along with the other teams watching.

"Carmine sounds like a nice team name," Rosanna said quietly, following the others down the stage.

" _Hmph_. You must be quite happy everything turned out how you wanted..." Nix teased Malva, one eyebrow raised in a taunting manner. "The cards were in your favor?"

"Not _exactly_ everything..." she sassed back, looking him over with a derogatory glance. Kris popped in between them, separating the two before their little argument could escalate.

"Come on, you two! We're a team now!" he exclaimed, more quietly now as the next team was announced. "We're team KRMN! We should get along, right?"

He said that with a face of utmost pride and joy, and in the merry atmosphere that surrounded everyone in the ballroom, Malva and Nix found it hard to deny him the favor.


	7. Chapter 3 - Debut

div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" align="left""Okay, this one's ours," Nix said, pointing at the plain white door of their dorm room before the other three got there as well. From a nearby room, Nila's high-pitched muffled laughter could be heard. "After you~" he added motioning at Kris, followed by a small, elegant bow. /div  
div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" align="left" /div  
div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" align="left"A proud smile on his face, the team leader scanned his Scroll on the door, which unlocked with a soft clicking sound. At first sight, the dorm room of team KRMN seemed ordinary: four beds side-by-side, separated by the large window and wooden bookcase in the middle, with a small nightstand between them. Their heavier luggage had been transferred from the ballroom to the dorm, and placed carefully by the closet on the left. On the desks were four sets of books, and other equipment necessary for tomorrow's classes. Perhaps it was because their bags and suitcases were taking up the most part of the room, but everyone silently agreed that their dorm was rather… tiny. However, the fact that they were all going to be sleeping in the same room seem to bother only Malva; the rest were fairly accustomed to sharing a room with the opposite sex. /div  
div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" align="left" /div  
div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: #fffffa;" align="left"Kris was the first to break the silence. "It's a little constricted, but I think we can manage once the suitcases are out of the way," he remarked. "Okay, so. Pick a bed, guys." br /br /"I'd like the one next to the window," Rosanna and Malva said, almost simultaneously. The two girls then exchanged a quick glance and neither of them moved, until Malva motioned for her to pick first. br /br /Rosanna made a hesitant step forward, backed out for a second, before walking shyly to the corner of the bed on the right of the window. Without hesitation, Malva then claimed the bed opposite to Rosanna's as her own, while Nix tossed his backpack and flopped on the one on the far right. Kris sat down on the far left /br /"Now that this has been settled," Malva said, jumping up from the mattress, "it is time to unpack. We won't have time to do so tomorrow morning."br /br /"Are you kidding?! Classes don't start until nine!" Nix complained, reading from the schedule on the bedside table. "And I'm tired! We fought all those Grimm! Let's just do it tomorrow." Seeing the girl's agitated expression, Kris stepped in before those two could start arguing /br /"I know we're all worn out from the exam, so how about we unpack just the basics?" he suggested, immediately looking over to Rosanna for support, who nodded her head positively. "We'll leave the rest of the organizing for after class." br /br /Malva agreed, an expression of triumph drawn over her face, and began the tedious task of unpacking and re-organizing her two enormous suitcases. Kris tiredly unzipped one of his duffel bags, taking out heaps of neatly-folded clothes, as well as some books. Rosanna followed in their example, although, since she was carrying nothing more than a large gray backpack, she was bound to finish before the other two. While his teammates were quickly immersed in that activity, Nix remained spread over the bed, watching silently as the others worked, until finally, reluctant and mumbling under his breath, he got up and began unpacking too. Searching for any empty space to stash his belongings, Nix came across the school uniforms in the closet. br /br /With everyone moving around and bumping into each other, it became obvious just how cramped the dorm was. After several attempts to relocate some furniture and hundreds of complaints from Malva that the noise was disturbing the other students, the newly-formed team managed to leave just enough living space for the four of them. After finishing up, the four members of team KRMN looked at their now changed-up, tidy dorm room. It could still use some work, Malva thought, but it'd suffice for now. br /br /"This started off as just 'unpacking bare necessities', but we ended up redecorating the whole dorm," Nix remarked, with just enough snark to earn Malva's disapproval once again. He jumped back onto his bed, taking his Scroll in his hand. br /br /"Do not let tomorrow know what you can do today." With one final kick, Malva shoved her now empty suitcase under her bed. "I doubt you'd be any more eager to do this tomorrow morning..." br /br /"It's gotten quite late now, though. Maybe we should call it a day," Rosanna chimed in right after a small yawn. Her lack of decent sleep over the past two days was beginning to take a /br /There was no objection to her proposal, and everyone went off to begin their nightly routines. Rosanna and Malva opted for taking a bath then instead of the next morning so that "We won't run late," as the purple-haired sniper claimed. While the blonde was finished in no more than fifteen minutes, Malva took her time, exiting the bathroom almost an hour later, wrapped snuggly in her bathrobe and filling the room with the sweet, flowery scent of her shampoo. br /br /By that time, her teammates were already tucked in, but she spent another half-hour meticulously arranging small vials of perfume and a variety of make-up products on her bedside table, before moving on to examine her new school uniform. Even after she ultimately determined that there wasn't so much as a tear in the seams on any of its articles, she sat on her bed with a white towel over her hair and began writing in a small leather back journal. br /br /"Aww, is that a diary? How cute," Nix teased her, and received a judgmental glare as the only reply. br /br /A few minutes later, Malva finally decided to go to bed. She put her Scroll aside, having set enough alarms to wake even the heaviest sleepers, covered herself up to the neck with the blanket and turned away from the window. "I hope none of you snore." br /br /Before Nix could find a witty remark to reply with, the girl had fallen asleep. After that, the room fell silent. br /br /  
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div align="left"No matter how much she turned and twisted, Rosanna just couldn't get comfortable. Perhaps it was the different environment, the awfully quiet room, or maybe her own agitation that prevented her from falling asleep. Her mind was flooded with questions about tomorrow: What would happen? Would she be able to pay attention in class? Would she know the answer if the teacher called on her? What would happen if she didn't? What if her grades weren't good enough? What if everyone else in the team were clever enough to understand everything, while she struggled? What if Russ and Alban were right when they told her she's not smart at all? What if she was only good at fighting? emWhat if, what if...br /embr /She let out a heavy sigh and grabbed her Scroll on the little wooden nightstand between hers and Nix's bed. The brightness of the screen blinded her, but she saw the bold "strong1 A.M." /strongthrough squinted eyes. She lifted her head, pulling long strands of damp hair out of her face. Next to her, Nix was sleeping peacefully, limbs spread over the bed, the blanket curled around his body. On her right, Malva was also in deep slumber, curled up with just the top of her purple head peeking out of the covers, but Kris was wide awake, bent over something under the light of the lamp. Though she tried to be as quiet as possible, the faunus inevitably heard her. br /br /"Rosanna? Did I wake you up?" When he turned around, she noticed the object he was holding was a /br /"No, no. I just can't sleep. You can't either?" she whispered. br /br /"Ah, well... Guess not." Kris folded the letter in two and put it back into an envelope, before returning it on the nightstand. "Hey, can I ask you something?" The girl nodded, hugging her pillow in her arms. "Are you happy with how things turned out? You know, partners, our team, me becoming team leader... How do you feel about all that?"br /br /"You're not happy?" she replied with furrowed /br /"I am! Heh, trust me, I'm more than happy. This whole thing is like a dream-come-true situation for me, you know?" His eyes lit up in excitement when he talked, just like when Ozpin was announcing teams. "Sounds a bit hackneyed, right?" br /br /"No, no! I mean... I think it's great, that you have a dream, and that it's becoming reality." The thought of her non-existing purpose in this Academy popped into Rosanna's head again. It felt a little weird, but she tried to ignore it. "I... I didn't expect anything from the first day, so I don't know how I feel just yet. But I don't feel bad about you being our team leader. I just don't know you three at all yet. But we can get along, right? We just gotta get used to each other, I guess," she added with a small giggle, making a gesture first at Malva and then at Nix. br /br /"Is not my fault the porcelain doll doesn't like me," Nix murmured groggily, rolling over at Rosanna's direction with a yawn. The blonde jumped up at the sound of his voice, as she was sure he was asleep just moments ago. "I'm very likeable, ya know..." br /br /"Malva's a good person, she's just a little...short-tempered," Kris said, scratching the back of his head. As much as he wanted to defend his friend, there was no denying that Malva was the opposite of easy-going. "We will all get along eventually." br /br /"Hah...'emshort/em'," Nix commented, still half-asleep. "A tiny short-tempered porcelain doll."br /br /"emI can hear you,/em" Malva squeaked from under the covers in her usual irritated tone. "Just know that I'll ditch all three of you here if you can't wake up in the morning. I'm not going to be late to class just because you people wanted to have an after-midnight chat. So shut it!" With a dramatic puff, she pulled the blanket over her head, falling silent after a couple of seconds. /div  
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br /Embarrassed, Rosanna shied away, Nix rolled back over snickering to himself, while Kris broke into a small awkward smile. "As I was saying..." he muttered and turned off the lamp. "Anyway. Let's try to get some rest." br /br /Rosanna nodded her head and lied back down. Not five minutes had passed before she lifted her head up from the pillow again. "Kris?" she /br /"Mm?" The faunus pushed himself up from the bed, tufts of hair falling on his /br /"I'm... happy about this. You three seem to be very talented people. I want to believe that we're gonna do okay." Her voice sounded gentle and hopeful, but a little melancholic. br /br /"It means a lot to hear that. I promise you, I'm going to do my best. As your partner and as team captain."br /br /"Hell yeah, captain! Go get 'em!" Nix joined in a little louder than the others, instantly earning a simultaneous "emShhhh/em!" from the other two, but it was too late. The doll had been awakened once /br /"emDamn it, go to sleep already!/em"br /  
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div align="left""I am spent!" Nix declared dramatically, barging into the dorm room and jumping immediately on his bed. Their first day as Beacon Academy students was over, and he was doing nothing to hide how tired he was. "And to think that this was just day one! These guys waste no time at all, huh?" he continued. br /br /"You thought they were going to go easy on us just because it's day one?" Kris commented, loosening the red tie around his neck, followed by an equally-tired Rosanna and a fuming Malva. br /br /"Nix, don't change the subject!" the petite girl stormed inside the room. She dropped her books on the desk with a loud thud, and turned around to glare furiously at her partner. br /br /"Oh, c'mon! You're still on about that thing? Just forget about it already!" he grunted. The expression on Malva's face, however, suggested she wasn't going to let go of the subject so easily. br /br /"Do you seriously believe I can simply emforget/em that you got disqualified a minute into your first sparring match?!" she exclaimed with visible frustration. "Professor Goodwitch was so angry! What was that comment about 'using your semblance like a villain'? Explain yourself!"br /br /During the solo sparring matches just a few hours ago, Nix had been put up against a student from another team. From the start, the fight seemed awfully one-sided, with Nix cornering his opponent and leaving them no opportunity to strike back. Right when it seemed that Nix would win, professor Goodwitch stepped in, called the fight off, and disqualified him, on the account of exploiting his semblance. Despite the other members' attempts to calm the tension down, Malva, who believed she was being affected since she was his partner, had been pressuring him about it ever since that day's classes ended. br /br /"Relax! Look, I already got lectured by Goodwitch, I don't need to hear all that again from emyou/em!" Nix complained, not looking up from his Scroll. br /br /"Well, if you had given everyone a better first impression, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Malva cried back, pushing her middle and index fingers on her temples. "Do I need to tell you again that your actions represent the team as a whole? This a very prestigious academy, and you spent the first day goofing around like we're in elementary school! First professor Ozpin comments on your groggy appearance on our way to class, then professor Port tells you off for not paying attention. And then that! Can you please take this whole thing more seriously?"br /br /"Ugh! What's your problem?" The two teammates exchanged a prolonged irritated glare, but in the end, Nix was the loser of the stare-down. "My semblance is hypnosis, okay? I can gain some control over someone's mind for a short period of time. During that time I can either confuse them or tell them what to do. In that guy's case, I told him to not fight back. As far as I know, my victims can tell what's going on, but can't do anything until I call it off or it wears off on its own. So, yeah, that's it. Satisfied now?" br /br /There was a short silence, broken only by a small gasp from Rosanna. "That's pretty cool!" the blonde said, fascinated by Nix's ability. Malva, on the other hand, didn't share the girl's enthusiasm. br /br /"So, you emcheated/em."br /br /"I have the right to use my semblance, don't I?" Nix shrugged. "Rosanna used hers all the time, while you won only because of your semblance! So why can't I use mine to win?"br /br /"Because it's cheating! It's unfair for your opponent. You can't just do that!" Malva insisted, placing her hands on her hips. br /br /"Why not?" Little by little, Nix's tone of voice became louder, just like Malva's. br /br /"There ought to be some fair play. And because you're supposed to show your skills! Or perhaps, are there none to display?" Malva smiled cockily, raising an eyebrow. br /br /"Enough, you two. You can let it go now," Kris said, but was blatantly ignored. br /br /"My semblance emIS/em a skill of mine," Nix insisted, clenching his fists. "And, emperhaps, /embefore you jump into conclusions, should I inform you that I got accepted here through recommendations?" br /br /"Hah." Malva broke in a malevolent smirk. "Who on Remnant recommended emyou?/em"br /br /"emListen here, you little-"/embr /br /"emEnough./em" The tall lion faunus stepped between them, pushing both Nix and Malva away from each other. Albeit visibly irritated, Kris was still calm, as if he'd born witness to such a scene before. Rosanna sat awkwardly and nervously on her bed, eyes switching between the three. "You need to calm down," he told Malva sternly, like a parent patronizing his child. Malva glared daggers at the young man, shot the same look at Nix, and sat on one of the desk chairs with a loud exhale. br /br /"Alright, listen. It's obvious we have our differences," Kris continued. "We still don't know a lot about each other, but we need to get along if we want to have a pleasant time here. Nix, you're right when you say you have every right to use your semblance. We just gotta find a way to...emimplement/em it into a strategy so it's not... you know..." He made a vague gesture with his hands. br /br /"Cheating. emRight/em..." Nix mocked, crossing his arms over his chest. br /br /"No, no, bear with me for a sec. Think about it. Your hypnosis can create openings for our attacks; you can confuse our enemies to get us out of a pinch, giving the rest of us an opportunity to strike back. And since you're partnered up with Malva, you can figure out a way to keep opponents away from her. Or maybe even lure them into stepping into her dust mines- you know, the traps she used to win today. Or, emor/em, you can hypnotize them into turning their attention somewhere else, while the rest of us go in for a surprise attack..." Kris went on and on, excitement drawn all over his face, stopping only after noticing the others' expressions. br /br /A little flustered, he cleared his throat. "I mean, those are just some ideas, nothing solid at the moment... But there's potential, right? After all, professor Goodwitch did mention that we will be fighting as teams soon enough. Some of these could work."br /br /Nix knitted his eyebrows, considering some of Kris's ideas, until his face lit up. "Yeah...yeah! That could work! I could probably find a way to use it without getting Goodwitch angry. Maybe she won't complain as long as I don't tank the fight like today. But I can see some of these ideas happening."br /br /"In theory, they all work," Malva remarked. "It's easy to toss ideas out like that, and the possibilities are indeed endless, if one thinks about it. But we need to put them into practice before using them in a real fight. It would save us from an unwanted defeat, and tons of embarrassment."br /br /"Of course, we have to test them beforehand," Kris nodded. "How about we get to it tomorrow, after classes end? There's so many combinations we can come up with."br /br /"Somebody's getting worked up," Nix teased, but without making it sound mean. "Alright, alright. We'll work on 'em. You can fight pretty well, so I'm kinda fired up to see what we can come up with."br /br /"Do keep in mind that Goodwitch mentioned that she'll have us fight with our partners as well," Malva stated. "We will have to focus on that too." She looked over to Rosanna, who nodded. br /br /"Alright! Now, I can elaborate more on those ideas, based on what I understood from watching you fight. If you can give me some time to finish up something for Oobleck's assignment, I'll get back to that right away." Searching among the small stack of books on the desk, Kris picked out a notebook. br /br /At the sound of the word 'assignment', an expression of worry spread over Nix's and Rosanna's face. "Wh-when is it for?" the blonde asked nervously. br /br /"He said he wants to see the progress we made, so we have to show him something by Wednesday," Malva responded. br /br /"Ah, okay. We've got time," Nix sighed, giving Rosanna a reassuring wink. br /br /"Don't you dare leave it until last minute!" the purple-haired girl retorted. "Scrap work will affect our team's overall grades! Besides, it's not even that difficult. If you've studied just a bit of history, you'll find it very easy."br /br /"Also, most of the points-to-be-addressed were already written on the board," Kris added, not lifting his head from the book he was reading. br /br /"When... When did you even begin it?" Nix said in confusion. br /br /"We had some spare time between lunch and the sparring matches, right?" Kris replied. br /br /"So have you finished it?" Nix asked. Malva smirked, and handed him her notebook. Its first pages were filled with rows and rows of beautiful /br /"...What language is that?" he asked again, with Rosanna leaned over his shoulder peeking at Malva's notes and trying to compare them to her own /br /"That's cursive."br /br /"Well, can you translate it?"br /br /"Are you mad?! As if I'd let you copy my work!" She stretched out her arm, trying to grab her notebook from his /br /"Come on! Just the important stuff? I promise I'll change it up."br /br /"Weren't you two paying attention to Doctor Oobleck?" Malva exclaimed, finally yanking her notebook out of his hand. "You can't rely on us to write your homework for you! This is serious business!" br /br /"Come on! It's so hard to listen to him! He speaks so fast! Why does he speak so fast? And who thought it was a good idea to put him for our first period? And why did he have to give us an assignment emon the first day/em?" Nix continued, but knew Malva would not give in. But from the corner of his eye, he noticed Rosanna had sneaked up on Kris, copying like mad out of his book while he was writing. Malva would not give in, but emmaybe/em... "Oh, captain. My captain. Team leader-"br /br /"Nope. Not happening," Kris cut him off, turning around just in time for Rosanna to step away undetected. br /br /"emPlease. /emYou're my only hope. And well, Rosanna was straight-up copying your notes moments ago," Nix called out, pointing a finger at the /br /Rosanna turned red when Kris looked over, and squinted her eyes at Nix. "Snitch," she murmured. br /br /"I can't believe this..." Malva sighed and shook her /br /Nix's pleadings persisted, involuntarily dragging the blonde girl into the appeals. "Come emon! /emAt least help us out a little! Rosanna and I need your help! We're a team, aren't we? Didn't Ozpin say that we have to emwork together/em? It's not that big of a deal! Just once! Just some directions..." Nix said, but Kris, who couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, insisted that it'd be wrong. br /br /"Just give it up and do it on your own!" Malva squeaked. br /br /Still, the white-haired teenager was not ready to stop trying. "Alright, then. If you help us, then you can be sure I'm not letting anyone defeat us next time."br /br /"Since we're a team, we're all kind of expected to do exactly that when we fight..." Kris retorted. br /br /"Oh, and we're not expected to help each other with studying?" Nix returned, gesturing /br /"You could have already completed some of it, if you had simply started working..." Malva commented. Blushing profusely, Rosanna nodded in agreement and decided to sit down and get to it, but Nix was unfazed. br /br /Soon enough, the bargaining began. Nix showered his teammate with promises of treating the team to coffee, buying food, or doing the chores around the dorm, but what started off as simple suggestions quickly got out of control. Neither Kris nor Nix could keep a straight face anymore, and the initial negotiations had turned into a silly game of retorts coming back and forth. The cheerful duo was enjoying it, but eventually Nix decided to take action. br /br /"Okay, I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice!" he exclaimed and quickly moved his face in front of Kris's, as if to hypnotize him. br /br /The lion faunus was initially caught off-guard, but instants later realized Nix's intentions. "Dude!" he said. "Not cool! Look, you can hypnotize our enemies, but not us, okay? You're not gonna be using your semblance on team members."br /br /"Hmm..." Nix smiled cockily, crossing his hands over his chest. "Only if you help me out with the assignment." br /br /"Heh... so that was your plan all along?" Kris commented, narrowing his eyes at Nix. After all the pestering and negotiating, the lion faunus reluctantly gave in. "Just because it's only day one, okay?" he sighed, allowing the brown textbook to be snatched out of his hand. "But you won't copy it! You're going to make some effort. I'm gonna guide you and Rosanna through the assignment, so sit down and listen closely." br /br /Without a single word from either of them, Rosanna and Nix, pen and paper in hand, looked attentively at their leader as he recapped Oobleck's lecture on Remnant, emphasizing all the points that they had to include in their assignment. While Kris helped them, Malva immersed herself in elaborating the work she'd already done, leafing through her books. It wasn't long before she was finished, and while pondering what to study next, she heard Kris make a minor mistake. Unable to let it pass, she abandoned her desk, and, dropping a heavy history book onto Nix's lap, joined the makeshift lecture. /div  
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